According to Nikoloz Beniaidze, the Chairman of the Association of Grain Producers, Georgian grain growing is in a very difficult situation and there is a danger that farmers can’t repay their loans, become bankrupt and will have to stop working.
“Only 10% of last year’s wheat crop has been sold, 90% has not yet been sold, apart from that, 20-30% of a new crop has already been harvested. But the problems is that wheat can’t be sold even at cost. The Prime Minister's order to give an advantage to local producers is not followed or followed partially,” he says.
In Nikoloz Beniaidze’s words, mills do not buy local grain considering it too expensive, but for producers even 40-45 tetri per kilogram
is too low, since costs are growing and the cost of grain is at least 80 tetri or two-fold higher than the purchase price.
Nikoloz Benianidze talks about a real risk that farmers will refuse to sow a new crop of grain and the country will be left without this sector of the economy, even now Georgia is heavily dependent on grain imports, namely on 80%.
“Flour imports into the country continue as flour prices in Russia continue falling. Even despite the import duty on wheat flour imposed by the Georgian government, imports still remain profitable. Currently, the new tax has is inefficient,” stresses the head of the Association.
